Thanks to Howard, schedule turns Rockets into TV stars

Dwight Howard holds up his new jersey as he is introduced as the newest member of the Houston Rockets during ceremonies at Toyota Center on Saturday, July 13, 2013, in Houston. The free agent officially joined the Rockets on Saturday with a news conference and public rally. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )

Dwight Howard holds up his new jersey as he is introduced as the...

One year removed from a season in which they were afterthoughts as blockbuster attractions for national television programmers, the Rockets of Dwight Howard, James Harden and Jeremy Lin will make at least 26 appearances on national television outlets during the 2013-14 season.

The schedule announced Wednesday includes a March 16, 2014, game at the NBA champion Miami Heat on ABC (locally on KTRK, Channel 13), plus 10 slots on ESPN and nine on TNT. At least six games, plus as many as three additional games to be determined, will air on NBA TV, but those games will be blacked out within a 75-mile radius of Houston.

Last year's schedule, which came out before Harden's acquisition from Oklahoma City, included just two Rockets games on ESPN's initial schedule and no games on ABC or TNT. This year, the Rockets are among six teams with the maximum 10 appearances on ESPN and one of six with at least nine games on TNT.

The Rockets' expanded national visibility will be a boon to fans shut out last season because of the limited availability of Comcast SportsNet Houston. Whether that higher national profile will help or hurt CSN Houston's carriage talks with DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse, Suddenlink and others is a question that may be answered between now and the season opener Wednesday, Oct. 30, at Toyota Center against Charlotte.

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In addition to the March 16 game at Miami, national TV games include a 7 p.m. Christmas Day game at San Antonio on ESPN; Nov. 7 at Toyota Center on TNT against Howard's former team, the Lakers; Lin's return to Madison Square Garden against the Knicks on TNT a week later; and a Jan. 16 game at Toyota Center on TNT against the Thunder, Harden's former team and the team that ousted the Rockets from the 2012-13 playoffs.

The schedule includes 20 back-to-back combinations, down from 21 last season. Of that total, nine are road-game combos, including Atlanta-to-Washington and Los Angeles (Lakers)-to-Denver night flights.

Seven back-to-backs open at home, with the most arduous trip being the Rockets' only home game against the Heat on March 4 followed by a trip to Orlando. The Rockets also have back-to-back games against the Grizzlies on Jan. 24 at home and Jan. 25 in Memphis.

There are four three-game road trips, including a jaunt to the Jazz, Clippers and Blazers after the season-opening home games against Charlotte and the Mavericks on Nov. 1.

On the home front, the Rockets have three three-game homestands - all in the season's first half. The first includes a Dec. 8 game against the Magic, another of Howard's former teams. Another includes the traditional New Year's Eve game, this time against the Kings, followed by visits from the Knicks and Lakers.

The longest homestand at five games stretches from Jan 16 through Jan. 22 and includes a Jan. 16 visit from Russell Westbrook, whose season ended with a knee injury suffered against the Rockets, and the Thunder.